2023-11-04 20:51:00
Hamburg Airport has been closed following a vehicle entered the premises. An armed man broke through a gate with his vehicle around 8 p.m. and drove onto the apron of the airport, said Thomas Gerbert, spokesman for the German Federal Police, to the German Press Agency on Saturday evening. The man had a gun and had already shot it twice into the air. He has at least one child on board.
The man’s wife had previously reported to the state police regarding possible child abduction, the spokesman said. The “Bild” newspaper first reported. Strong state and federal police forces are on site, said Gerbert. They were near the vehicle. This also includes the Federal Police’s Evidence and Arrest Unit. “They are very robustly equipped,” said Gerbert.
At least one child in the car
The police say they are now in contact with the gunman. Gerbert was initially unable to say on Saturday evening how exactly the communication would take place. It has now been confirmed that a child was in the man’s car. It was unclear whether there was a second child in the vehicle, as initially suspected.
The man threw two burning bottles out of the car, “some kind of Molotov cocktails,” said Gerbert. There was no damage and the airport fire department was able to extinguish the bottles. “The airport is being cleared and most of it already is,” said an airport spokeswoman on Saturday evening. Several machines have already been cleared.
27 flights affected by the ban
The airport’s homepage said in the evening: “Due to a federal police measure, take-offs and landings are currently not possible.” The airport spokeswoman said that from the official closure of the airport at 8:24 p.m. until the end of operations at 11 p.m., 6 take-offs and 21 landings would normally have been expected.
Image: UNKNOWN (dpa)
The expected flights would come from Hurghada, Agadir, Malaga and Lisbon, among others, it was said. Some of them have already been rerouted and some flights have been canceled. What happens next with air traffic depends on the operational situation, said the spokeswoman.
Hamburg airport had already been closed in October, but at that time because of a threat of attack on a plane from Tehran to Hamburg.
Read from the archive: Air traffic at Hamburg Airport suspended due to threat of attack
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
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